Central banks are being forced to govern through exceptions in an era in which rule-following (particularly the holy grail of the 2% inflation target) has become the ultimate source of policy credibility. As the potential for renewed economic crisis continues to grow, this credibility trap will only grow – as central bankers and governments find themselves lurching from exception to exception, refusing to question the neoliberal rules that no longer seem to apply.… Read More Central banks are facing a credibility trap

Rather than using ever-more dubious indicators and targets to drive policy on everything from health to the economy, we need to find better ways of assessing, communicating and managing the true complexity of the policy challenges that we face.… Read More Why we need to take economic uncertainty seriously

As the prognosis for the global economy gets darker by the day, we are hearing one word over and over: austerity. The British government has announced that it will extend its austerity measures past the next election in 2015. In Canada, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has reiterated that the solution to the current economic crisis, both here… Read More The austerity trap